I thought I made that rifle pen before, but couldn't remember it being so interesting... turns out it was another brand/style, however, I was very impressed with your stock. Hope you plan to post a project on it.
Years ago, for odd shapes (and some normal) I used to dip, let soak and drip dry under cover to keep the dust off,
this did eliminate stroke marks... though that was probably b4 I discovered WOP.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD